Rachel Peniche Uses Event Planning to Give Back to the San Diego Community

The public often has a whimsical view of an event planner’s life; weddings, champagne and picturesque settings often are associated with their work. In reality, those in this profession work long days and commit their lives to others a year or more in advance.

“It takes a big heart to make it in this industry,” said Rachel Peniche, owner of Plan It San Diego and former lecturer for San Diego State University’s wedding planning course.

In an interview for the SDSU College of Extended Studies website, Peniche said that when it comes to event planning “There are sacrifices that people don’t think about.” She said that while it may seem very “glamorous and sexy,” it is hard work but very rewarding.

Peniche explained that event planning gave her the skills and passion for others that encouraged her to get involved with many local nonprofit organizations.

In 2011, Peniche started her role as Executive Director at Friends of Vista Hill, a nonprofit that is committed to assisting San Diegans of all ages who face mental illness, substance abuse and intellectual or developmental disabilities according to the Vista Hill Organization website. Peniche juggles weddings and events for Plan It San Diego while being the head of fundraising and events for Friends of Vista Hill, The Mission and formerly Rady Children’s Hospital.

“Rachel’s car is always filled to the brim with event decorations,” said Gigi Esguerra, Peniche’s aunt, “and one time we went to lunch and she had 3 phones; she is such a hard worker!”

Peniche is a San Diego native who grew up in South Mission Bay, she moved to Massachusetts for college where she attended Clark University. After college, Peniche moved back to San Diego and started her career in the event planning industry.

According to the SDSU College of Extended Studies website, Peniche started her career in event planning when “She coordinated the celebrity and VIP arrangements for the Governor Gray Davis Committee at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.” Peniche then opened her own business, Plan It San Diego, in 2001. The website said that since then she has planned 400 plus weddings, and 600 events. She recounted the most memorable wedding she planned, one that took place back in 2011.

“This couple met in middle school and kept in touch even though the woman moved to New York,” Peniche said, “when the man got into a horrible surfing accident and ended up becoming paralyzed from the waist down she moved back to San Diego and took care of him.”

Peniche explained that elephants were a consistent theme throughout his rehabilitation after his niece gave him the book “Elmer the Patchwork Elephant.” Peniche said that the book symbolized how people can be “different but just as beautiful.”

The wedding took place at the San Diego Zoo and the bride insisted that all of the guests were to stay seated even as she walked down the aisle so that they were all at the same level as her soon-to-be husband. The bride also sat as they shared their vows. Peniche said that when it was time for the couple to share their first kiss as husband and wife, “two elephants intertwined their trunks right behind them.”

Peniche said she was truly amazed and excited by this, “considering the day before at the dress rehearsal one of the elephants urinated in the background!”

Peniche still loves event planning and according to the Plan It San Diego website, she continues to plan weddings, bar mitzvahs and a wide variety of other special events even after she started immersing herself in non-profit work.

Peniche began dedicating her time to helping others and planning events for non-profits after her close friend Liz received heartbreaking news concerning the health of her 2-year-old daughter.

When Peniche discovered that Liz’s daughter had a rare form of Leukemia, she started working with Rady Children’s Hospital. There she was on the fundraising board and planned the Charity Ball. She was also the San Diego and Hawaii Board Chairwoman for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.

At Friends of Vista Hill, Peniche plans an annual fashion show, gala, family fundraiser and council on mental health. She raises around $1 million per year for the nonprofit.

Peniche described her transition from event-focused work to fundraising as being very natural. “It was very intuitive for me,” Peniche said, “it is all about relationships and empathy; everybody has a story, it’s how to connect them to the cause that creates the most impact.”

Between events for her company and her nonprofit work, Peniche has 110 meetings already scheduled for next year.

“Even though she is so busy, she always makes time for us,” said her close family friend Jemma Samala. Peniche started a tea group for her family and friends where they get together for afternoon tea. “Rachel is the glue that keeps us all together,”said Samala.

Esguerra said that after her husband passed away, Peniche did the Rock and Roll Marathon with her, and she “dedicated every mile to a different person or cause.” Esguerra said that even though Peniche was “utterly exhausted,” she finished the race to honor all of those causes and people.

Traveling has been a constant inspiration for Peniche. Moving across the country for college and traveling to Italy increased her ability to understand and relate to a wide variety of people with diverse backgrounds.

“Traveling is the number one way to experience and have empathy for others,”said Peniche.

She recalled the first snow of the season her first year living in Massachusetts, “there was barely any snow on the ground but I just made a huge mess trying to make snow angels anyways,” Peniche said. She explained that the other students viewed the snow as a negative, but to her she was so excited and it made her see the world in a whole new way.

Peniche went to Italy to witness Pope Francis swear Mother Teresa into sainthood. She explained that there were over 300,000 people in attendance with only 100,000 chairs and just a couple portable restrooms available.

“People were so cordial and nice amidst those conditions, all looking out for each other,” said Peniche. After this event, Peniche said that she just wanted to soak it all in, as her faith is very important to her and is what fuels her on even the toughest of days.

These experiences helped Peniche relate to clients, volunteers and donors and says that her travels greatly contributed to her ability to connect with the people she works with.

While working at SDSU, Peniche taught a wedding planning course that covered topics such as time management, scheduling, budget creation, dealing with the high emotions that can occur the day of a wedding, and looking at integral cultural and religious differences.

Skye Reed, a student at SDSU who has met Peniche said, “While I only had the chance to get to know her briefly, you could tell that she cared about her students and was so passionate about her job in the event planning industry.”

Peniche uses her event planning skills and experience to continuously find new ways to give back to the San Diego Community.

While there are so many different ways to raise money for important causes that touch the lives of many, Peniche says that, “At the core of it all, it’s about relationships and making others feel important and loved.”